Mississippi State 35, Texas A&M 28: What Does It All Mean?

– Texas A&M had its fun in the top four, but now that’s obviously gone. Washington wasn’t in any real danger of being left out of the College Football Playoff if it took care of its own business, but now there’s no worry whatsoever. Ohio State, Louisville, Wisconsin and Auburn all should move up in a hurry now and be closer to top four range.

– Welcome to the Jake Hubenak era? Trevor Knight was the heart-and-soul type who always seemed able to lead the team out of the doldrums. He suffered an early shoulder injury and got knocked out after competing 5-of-14 passes for 43 yards. But even after leaving, the offense couldn’t get physical – Knight led the team with 54 rushing yards despite missing a bulk of the game. Hubenak completed 11-of-17 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns with a pick, and he did what he could to get the team back in the game, but Mississippi State did what it needed to do early on – it had the cushion.

– Nick Fitzgerald might have to do more for his team than any quarterback in the SEC. Mississippi State has struggled and sputtered all season long, but Fitzgerald has done everything possible to try carrying the load. Finally, he got his payoff, throwing for 209 yards and two scores, running for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and once again, doing everything for the team, even though he got some help from …

– The Mississippi State line play was tremendous. The Bulldogs pounded away for 365 yards and three scores on the ground, while the defensive front stuffed and shocked the Aggies all game long. A&M had to start throwing after getting down, but there wasn’t anything there when the backs tried to run.

– What Does It All Really Mean? And that’s it for Texas A&M. You … don’t … lose … to … Mississippi State. At least not this year.

With Ole Miss and LSU still to play, there’s still time to make a little noise and stay in the hunt for one of the New Year’s Six games, but the SEC championship is toast and forget about getting into the College Football Playoff as a two-loss team.

Is Mississippi State back in the bowl hunt? It’s 4-5 now with at Alabama, Arkansas and at Ole Miss to close. If it plays like it did in the upset over Texas A&M, and if the lines can crank out a performance like this again, and if … no. But this was still a terrific win in a dud of a season.